kscans

Chapter 8 - A Sword of Resolve

A man with a greatsword on his back stood before me. He seemed to be the boss of this seven-man group.

From his words just now, he seemed like a small-timer too, but I had to assume he had the skills to be called 'boss.' On top of that, if the other six were to attack as well, the situation would be seven against one.

In a normal fight, I'd be beaten to a pulp and that would be the end of it. But this world had magic.

I hadn't used it in the exam, and the three thugs hadn't used it either.

Therefore, they didn't know I could use magic. This was a significant advantage for me. With fire magic, I could probably take down three or four of them.

As I was thinking this, the six men, excluding the boss, formed a Crane Wing Formation.

I expected a simultaneous attack from all sides. In this formation, no matter where I attacked first, it would be difficult to defend against the subsequent attacks. There was only one thing I could do... run backwards. That was the best option. The moment I thought that, I broke into a run without a second glance.

The thugs shouted.

"He's running! Don't let him get away!"

They gave chase.

But this was a forest. I weaved between the trees, and when their figures were hidden by the trunks, I slipped into a thicket and hid myself.

What in the world was I doing?

My opponents were bandits disguised as adventurers, and they were intent on killing me. Yet, I had stood there without launching a preemptive strike. My master always said that letting the enemy get the first move was unacceptable for a hunter.

Why didn't I use magic first?

No, the answer was obvious.

It was because they were human.

That reason alone had made me hesitate.

At that moment, I remembered one of the warnings written in that book.

Third: You will have a resistance to killing.

At the time, both before and after coming to this world, I hadn't understood what it meant and had forgotten about it, thinking it was unimportant. But now, I understood the meaning of that warning. It meant having a resistance to killing humans.

I understood now. In this world, those who hesitated to kill villains—to kill people—could not survive.

That must have been what it was written for.

I had been naive.

To think I would only be killing monsters was a selfish assumption. But even understanding that didn't change the situation. It didn't affect the reality that they were trying to kill me.

But if I managed to escape to town now, I would drown in the sweet temptation of thinking I could escape, and the delusion that I could escape next time would be ingrained in me.

That was no good. That was not the mindset of someone living in this world.

I had decided to live as a hunter in this world. There was no way I could allow myself to cling to such weakness here. Just then, I saw one of the thugs, a spear wielder, approach my hiding spot.

I made my resolve.

I emerged from the thicket and stood before the thug. Seeing me, he sneered.

"Found you. Heh, has the runaway coward finally decided to give up?"

There was no lie in the thug's words.

That's right, I had run.

I had run from the desire not to kill another human being.

But now, there was only one thought in my heart: the resolve to take a life.

The thug thrust his spear at me.

A slow thrust.

I dodged it with ease and, in the instant we passed each other, drew my sword.

Bushuuuu!

With that sound, blood erupted from the thug's side.

"Huh? ...Gyaaaaaaah!"

He screamed.

I'll put you out of your misery. With that thought, I sent the thug's head flying.

The head fell with a thud, and the body collapsed in a spray of blood.

Hearing the scream, three more thugs arrived—a swordsman, an archer, and an axeman. Easy, I thought, and acted.

Before the thugs could say anything, I quickly moved to the side and lopped off the unguarded neck of one.

Next, the axeman charged, his weapon held for a horizontal swing. But his speed was slow. The moment I entered the axe's range, he swung. I leaped back a step, and before he could regain his posture, I quickly moved to his side and cut off his head.

The remaining thug immediately nocked an arrow, but I quickly hid behind a tree.

The thug held his ground, bow drawn, tracking me with his eyes. I moved from tree to tree, creating a diversion. While he was confused, I moved to a tree near him, revealed myself, and as he noticed and hurriedly tried to take aim, it was already too late.

The bow is a weapon specialized for long-range.

A master might have ways to deal with close-range combat, but my opponent was a thug, an amateur who could do nothing but shoot. My judgment was correct. Unable to react, he was still in shock as I cut off his head before he could aim.

That was four down, three to go.

I immediately activated `Detection`. There were two moving targets nearby. The remaining one hadn't moved from its original spot.

That's probably the boss. Which means the other two are the thugs with swords. I ran towards the nearest red sphere.

The thug noticed me and tried to draw his sword, but I was already there, swinging my blade in a low cut at his legs.

The thug screamed, but I silenced him by cutting off his head.

The other red sphere seemed to have reached the location of the four bodies. I quickly returned, and as the thug stared in shock at the corpses, I mercilessly lopped off his head.

That was six. Only the boss remained.

I stopped there, put my hands together, and prayed.

After finishing my prayer, I went to where the boss was.

He was standing where I had first seen him, arms crossed.

When I appeared, he asked with a serious expression.

"I heard my men screaming just now. Did you kill them all?"

I answered his question.

"That's right. The six are dead. You're the only one left. But before that, I have a question for you. Are you prepared to bet your life?"

To that, the boss replied.

"Bet my life? What a ridiculous thing to say. We've killed plenty of merchants and adventurers. I made that kind of resolve long ago. Though, I'm not going to be the one dying here."

The boss said with a mocking tone and drew his greatsword.

Hearing and seeing this, I said.

"I see. Prepare yourself."

With that, I drew my katana in my right hand and my sword in my left. Dual-wielding.

The boss charged with his greatsword in a high stance. His speed was faster than the other six, but not so fast that I couldn't dodge. The moment I entered the greatsword's range, he brought it down.

I dodged it, and swung my katana at his wide-open side.

The boss blocked the katana with the gauntlet on his left hand and swung his arm, deflecting it. My stance broke for a moment, but I quickly recovered. At that moment, the boss closed in and swung horizontally.

I blocked the greatsword with both my weapons. He was slightly stronger. If this kept up, I'd be blown away.

Sensing this, I slid my blades down to the tip of his greatsword, and we ended up back-to-back. I half-turned my body and slashed at the boss's exposed back with my katana. The boss froze for a moment. I didn't miss the opening. I thrust the sword in my left hand, piercing his back. The sword went through his back and out his stomach.

The boss stopped moving completely.

The greatsword he was holding fell from his hand. He let out a groan, and the face that turned to look at me was contorted in agony.

I pulled out my sword and took some distance.

The boss fell to one knee, his left hand on his stomach, his right hand trying to reach for his greatsword. But I struck his reaching right hand with my katana, wounding it badly. The boss screamed. His right hand lost all strength and hung limply at his side.

As I was about to deliver the final blow, the boss pleaded.

"W-wait! I lose! I can't fight anymore. I won't mess with you again. Let me go. Please."

He begged for his life. To such a boss, I said.

"Didn't you say you were prepared to bet your life, you bastard?"

To that, the boss replied.

"That was just a joke, you know, something I said in the heat of the moment. I wasn't serious. So please don't kill me."

What a pathetic guy. What did he think a fight to the death was?

I thought about mentioning the people he had killed, but I stopped myself. I was sure he would just make some ugly excuse. Besides, I thought such words would only anger the dead.

With that in mind, I made my decision.

When I sheathed the sword in my left hand, the boss smiled. But then I gripped the katana in my right hand with both hands and pointed it at him. Seeing this, the boss's face turned pale.

"Wait! I told you I surrendered! Don't you have any mercy?! Huh?!"

The boss shouted at me, his tone turning angry. In response, I said calmly.

"Mercy? There's no need for that in a fight to the death. There is only life or death. And here, now, I will kill you!"

With those words, I cut off the boss's head.

I gathered the seven bodies in one place and prayed. If I left them here, they would just become food for monsters. That was natural, the law of nature.

But I wasn't callous enough to just leave them and go back.

I put the collected bodies into a hole I dug and burned them using fire magic.

I stayed there until the fire burned fiercely and turned them to ash. After the fire went out, I confirmed that only bones remained, and buried them in the dirt along with their weapons.

I arrived back in town.

It was dusk, the sky a reddish hue, when I entered the Guild. The receptionist said.

"Welcome back. You were gone for quite a while. Did something happen?"

To her words, I replied.

"I was attacked by bandits after I finished gathering herbs. I just finished a life-or-death battle with them and came back."

I didn't mention that the three thugs were the bandits. If I did, I'd probably be bombarded with troublesome questions, and more importantly, I didn't know what would be said if it got out that fellow adventurers had fought to the death.

"That's unfortunate. But I'm glad you made it back safely. What kind of bandits were they? I need to check if they were on the wanted list."

To her question, I replied.

"There were seven of them. A boss with a greatsword, and his subordinates with swords, spears, an axe, and a bow. Come to think of it, all their clothes had a bird-like picture on the chest."

Now that I thought about it, all seven of them had a crow-like picture on their chests, and it was even engraved on the boss's greatsword.

It was probably their banner.

It wasn't strange for them to have such a mark.

At my answer, the receptionist said.

"A bird?! Was it by any chance this picture?"

She hurriedly took out a piece of paper with that very mark drawn on it.

Seeing it, I said.

"Ah, yes, that's the picture. But why do you have a paper with this picture on it here?"

To my question, the receptionist replied.

"This is the crest of a group of bandits that has been causing damage in this area recently. A group of seven, they attack merchants on the main road and the adventurers escorting them, stealing money and goods. The Guild had posted this picture on the board with a subjugation request. Wait, you didn't see this on the board?!"

I had no memory of it.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall it.

Heh, so I was that uninterested, huh? This was embarrassing.

To not know something everyone else knew was nothing short of shameful.

I nodded in response to her question.

"Haaah... well, fine. You said you finished a fight to the death. Did you kill them all?"

The receptionist asked with a serious expression.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. I killed seven people. Would it have been better to capture them?"

The receptionist shook her head.

"No, it's common for wanted criminals to be killed. In fact, capturing them alive is difficult even for the guards. What's most important is that you're safe."

The receptionist said with a bright smile.

I remained unfazed.

"I see. Well, changing the subject, can I consider the herb gathering request completed now?"

I forcefully changed the topic.

It seemed like anything further had nothing to do with me as a hunter. In response, the receptionist said.

"Ah, yes, the herb gathering is complete. Also, where are the bandits' bodies? We need to retrieve them for final confirmation."

A cold sweat ran down my back. And then.

"I burned all the bodies."

At my answer, the receptionist exclaimed.

"You burned them?! Why?!"

She looked shocked, so I explained.

"In my village, we have a rule not to leave bodies as they are, even if they're criminals. I burned the bandits' bodies and buried them in the ground along with their weapons."

At my answer, the receptionist sighed.

"Haaah... well then, I'll contact the guards immediately. Shinsuke-san, please go with them to the burial site and retrieve the bodies right away."

To her words, I asked.

"Right now?"

"Right now."

The receptionist said with a scary smile. I nodded silently.

I went to the forest with the guards and dug up the spot where the bodies were buried.

All that remained were bones, but amidst the burnt clothes, we found a partially burned bird crest. Furthermore, the bird crest was engraved on the boss's greatsword, proving that these bodies were indeed the bandits.

(Thank you, bandit boss. Thank you so much for putting that crest on your sword.)

In my heart, I sent a word of thanks to the dead boss.

By the time we returned to town, it was getting dark.

We went back to the Guild, and the staff confirmed the bones and belongings. Apparently, the bandits had worn masks, so their faces were unknown, and the chest crest was the only clue. It made sense. Three of the seven had been registered as adventurers.

Those three probably checked the Guild to see who had taken what quests, and then chose victims they thought they could kill.

If that was their mission, then why did they mess with me back then? Because I was cheeky? They picked a fight for that reason, lost, reported to their boss, and the boss decided to retaliate and attack me.

They didn't wear masks because I was a rookie, alone, so they thought they could kill me easily without needing them. What a stupid reason.

Well, thanks to that, I had the opportunity to defeat the bandits who were causing trouble for everyone, so in that respect, I should thank that trio.

As I was thinking this, the receptionist approached.

"Shinsuke-san, we have confirmed the seven bandit bodies. This achievement will be added to your evaluation."

To that, I panicked.

"No, my quest was to gather herbs. Not to subjugate bandits."

At my answer, the receptionist shook her head.

"No. No matter what the quest, if you resolve an incident that occurs along the way, that also becomes part of your evaluation. Especially for requests from the Guild, it's a rule that whoever completes it gets the credit. If we broke this rule, other adventurers would stop doing anything outside of their quests. Therefore, we will add it to your evaluation. This is a final decision."

The receptionist said with a confident smile. I couldn't say anything.

When I went home, the bag of money I was given contained the reward for gathering herbs and the reward for defeating the bandits.

Inside were twenty silver coins and thirty copper coins. The copper coins were for the herbs, the silver for the bandits. I thought I had made a good haul, but I immediately corrected myself. I can't get a taste for getting a lot of money for killing people. Even if this is a world where killing is permitted, if I actively go around killing people, I'll be no different from those bandits.

I am a hunter.

One who hunts monsters and sells their materials. Not one who hunts humans. That said, if someone comes to kill me, I must kill them.

If I can't do that, then I will never come to this world again. But I have decided to live as a hunter in this world.

I have no intention of quitting. I have no intention of retreating. I will not look back.

I carved a sword named Resolve and an unquenchable flame into the steel of my chest, and continued to burn.

It was a little strange, but I thought it was the most appropriate expression of my resolve that I could think of.

I went to the house with the magic circle and returned to Earth.